リーダのみんな様、
あけましておめでとうございます。
去年お世話になりました。
今年もよろしくお願いいたします。
Happy 2009!
～みはる～
15 years ago
0
Looking back 2008
In a breath, another year has passed by.
It's true that time flies. Before I know it, 2008 is here and gone.
Looking back, 2008 had been an eventful year for me. Tumultuous, even. I had my ups and a lot of downs. I learnt, I matured, I got lost, I struggled, and I am still surviving.
Living in inflating times
In the span of 12 months in 2008, I moved twice, paid exorbitant property rental through my nose, and juggled my finances badly with my meager student salary. Living expenses went through the roof under the pretext of skyrocketing fuel prices, leaving struggling young people like myself to pay for pricier homes, transportation, food, medicare and personal needs. Savings is near impossible. The financial picture was unpleasant enough to bring forth thoughts of quitting PhD studies for a real paying job. However I decided to complete what I started off, which fortunately was a good decision (I think), considering the economic crunch and thinning recruitment. I suppose inflation is a lifestyle challenge every young adult will have to battle in the journey to adulthood?
Work vs Hobby
With the passing months of 2008, I find my enthusiasm for research gradually diminishing. Perhaps I was never passionate about research to start with. It was an escape route to my then 'quarter-life' crisis. I begin to feel functional in my research work; the problem is this, so I have to find a solution yada-yada. Period. In time, it became dreadful to go to work, I did not (and still do not) feel happy going to work.
In contrary, my happiest day of the week is Sunday, when I attend Japanese classes. I love the classes by Maeda Yukiko-sensei and especially Mizusaki Machiko-sensei. Every week I would look forward to Sunday, for the laughter, jokes, and enjoyable learning of Japanese language. Japanese language became (though always had been) my passion. Regardless a regular conversational class, or the intensive JLPT prep class, I just love Japanese classes. And before I knew it, this 1.5 hours of Japanese per week became the sole lifeline that is keeping me away from depression.
That I began feeling this way forces me to rethink my direction in life. Is this what I want for the next several years of my life; the waking up to dreadful mornings, experimenting functionally? Why is it the Japanese classes are making me feeling so much more alive and enthusiastic? What am I doing here? What do I want? What am I supposed to do?
Sadly, I still cannot find the answers. Although, I think I should find it fast because waking up to every morning in dread without genuine enthusiasm to motivate me makes life very difficult to live by.
Friends and foe
I admit I haven't been socializing healthily in this whole year. I see my lab colleagues every day and we have occasional outings, meet up with university mates once a while.... and that's it. Apart from my housemates and a few close friends, I don't think I maintained a sustainable interaction with people around me. Even with close friends, I don't think I engage with them frequent enough, long enough, or deep enough. Busy schedule had always been the primary excuse. It is sad, I know. However, when I become so preoccupied with my own problems and work, I gradually lost touch with myself, which drifted me further from my friends. Compounded with my deteriorating impression on people and human nature, I think I'm starting to develop a general lack of trust for others; I find friends not being there when I'm at my lowest and that I can only depend on myself to save myself. Not that I blame them anyway. But I see friends no different from mere acquaintances; when I am sinking, they all just stand by the sidelines and watch me go down albeit helplessly.
While I well know that is a psychologically dangerous train of thought, most of the time I can't find an ink of sincerity in me to believe in the genuine bond of friendship. Frankly I couldn't believe how cold and cynical I have evolved; I used to naively embrace the joys of friendship and the wonderful companionship it brings. I wonder, where along my life had I lost the innocence and naivety I so miss right now. Nevertheless, I do have a handful of friends whom, by my interaction with them, periodically reminds me that I need them just as much as they need me. To these few, I thank them from the bottom of my heart and I truly treasure them.
In the year 2008, I had my fair share of acquaintances who stirred incredible emotional chaos in me. I've met people with really ridiculously lousy attitude and shallow conduct, who annoyed me so much I experienced serious emotional hijacking for the first time in my life. In retrospect, my interaction with them taught me soft skills I never knew I'd need and trained my patience. It's because of them I saw the need to re-evaluate my emotional and mental self. While I still hold rather poor regard on them, I sincerely thank them for showing me my weaknesses.
Shrinking EQ
2008 had been turbulent for me in terms of emotional well-being. It's like a violent ride of emotional see-saw. There are rare moments that I'm very happy, but a lot of time was spent entertaining negativity. I became much more short-tempered and get angry rather easily. It was bad to the point that I think I might have been experiencing mild depression. There were times I would feel emotionally overwhelmed and end up crying without knowing what the trigger was. Other times, I would feel easily insulted by remarks that wouldn't usually bother me much; somehow, for reasons I'm unclear, the hurt and pain get amplified so many times resulting in my uncharacteristic huge reaction towards the offender.
In retrospect, I think I lost control of my emotional self somewhere along the way. I had not intended for my emotions to run amok, but the flaws and faults in my character were not corrected and had most likely resulted in this emotional hijacking. (I kinda suspected it may have been compounded by some kind of clinical dysfunction, like hormonal imbalance, but that's for the doctor to tell me...)
Losing my emotional self makes me feel vulnerable and fragile; I lose my sense of self. While I'm far from recovering, I'm trying very hard to repair the damage before it destroys me in its stranglehold.
In a nutshell
Looking back, it had been a difficult year. Though not completely gloomy, it did drain a lot of energy from my inner self. I felt I had lost a lot of youth and zeal in threading through this 'prime time' of my life. It makes me feel tired and old.
I long for an enthusiastic and energetic life.
I long for good times and close bonds with friends.
I long for a goal I can wake up eagerly to every morning.
I long for a peaceful mind and heart.
And such is life that we have many things we long for, and they can come to us but at hefty price. I hope to face the new year with a better frame of mind, clear heart, and renewed enthusiasm for life. I will continue to seek for answers to my unanswered questions, fix my flaws and faults, and regain sight of myself.
I think what I really need is a long break to rejuvenate my weary soul.
Hopefully, 2009 won't be suckier than what 2008 was already.
～みはる～
It's true that time flies. Before I know it, 2008 is here and gone.
Looking back, 2008 had been an eventful year for me. Tumultuous, even. I had my ups and a lot of downs. I learnt, I matured, I got lost, I struggled, and I am still surviving.
Living in inflating times
In the span of 12 months in 2008, I moved twice, paid exorbitant property rental through my nose, and juggled my finances badly with my meager student salary. Living expenses went through the roof under the pretext of skyrocketing fuel prices, leaving struggling young people like myself to pay for pricier homes, transportation, food, medicare and personal needs. Savings is near impossible. The financial picture was unpleasant enough to bring forth thoughts of quitting PhD studies for a real paying job. However I decided to complete what I started off, which fortunately was a good decision (I think), considering the economic crunch and thinning recruitment. I suppose inflation is a lifestyle challenge every young adult will have to battle in the journey to adulthood?
Work vs Hobby
With the passing months of 2008, I find my enthusiasm for research gradually diminishing. Perhaps I was never passionate about research to start with. It was an escape route to my then 'quarter-life' crisis. I begin to feel functional in my research work; the problem is this, so I have to find a solution yada-yada. Period. In time, it became dreadful to go to work, I did not (and still do not) feel happy going to work.
In contrary, my happiest day of the week is Sunday, when I attend Japanese classes. I love the classes by Maeda Yukiko-sensei and especially Mizusaki Machiko-sensei. Every week I would look forward to Sunday, for the laughter, jokes, and enjoyable learning of Japanese language. Japanese language became (though always had been) my passion. Regardless a regular conversational class, or the intensive JLPT prep class, I just love Japanese classes. And before I knew it, this 1.5 hours of Japanese per week became the sole lifeline that is keeping me away from depression.
That I began feeling this way forces me to rethink my direction in life. Is this what I want for the next several years of my life; the waking up to dreadful mornings, experimenting functionally? Why is it the Japanese classes are making me feeling so much more alive and enthusiastic? What am I doing here? What do I want? What am I supposed to do?
Sadly, I still cannot find the answers. Although, I think I should find it fast because waking up to every morning in dread without genuine enthusiasm to motivate me makes life very difficult to live by.
Friends and foe
I admit I haven't been socializing healthily in this whole year. I see my lab colleagues every day and we have occasional outings, meet up with university mates once a while.... and that's it. Apart from my housemates and a few close friends, I don't think I maintained a sustainable interaction with people around me. Even with close friends, I don't think I engage with them frequent enough, long enough, or deep enough. Busy schedule had always been the primary excuse. It is sad, I know. However, when I become so preoccupied with my own problems and work, I gradually lost touch with myself, which drifted me further from my friends. Compounded with my deteriorating impression on people and human nature, I think I'm starting to develop a general lack of trust for others; I find friends not being there when I'm at my lowest and that I can only depend on myself to save myself. Not that I blame them anyway. But I see friends no different from mere acquaintances; when I am sinking, they all just stand by the sidelines and watch me go down albeit helplessly.
While I well know that is a psychologically dangerous train of thought, most of the time I can't find an ink of sincerity in me to believe in the genuine bond of friendship. Frankly I couldn't believe how cold and cynical I have evolved; I used to naively embrace the joys of friendship and the wonderful companionship it brings. I wonder, where along my life had I lost the innocence and naivety I so miss right now. Nevertheless, I do have a handful of friends whom, by my interaction with them, periodically reminds me that I need them just as much as they need me. To these few, I thank them from the bottom of my heart and I truly treasure them.
In the year 2008, I had my fair share of acquaintances who stirred incredible emotional chaos in me. I've met people with really ridiculously lousy attitude and shallow conduct, who annoyed me so much I experienced serious emotional hijacking for the first time in my life. In retrospect, my interaction with them taught me soft skills I never knew I'd need and trained my patience. It's because of them I saw the need to re-evaluate my emotional and mental self. While I still hold rather poor regard on them, I sincerely thank them for showing me my weaknesses.
Shrinking EQ
2008 had been turbulent for me in terms of emotional well-being. It's like a violent ride of emotional see-saw. There are rare moments that I'm very happy, but a lot of time was spent entertaining negativity. I became much more short-tempered and get angry rather easily. It was bad to the point that I think I might have been experiencing mild depression. There were times I would feel emotionally overwhelmed and end up crying without knowing what the trigger was. Other times, I would feel easily insulted by remarks that wouldn't usually bother me much; somehow, for reasons I'm unclear, the hurt and pain get amplified so many times resulting in my uncharacteristic huge reaction towards the offender.
In retrospect, I think I lost control of my emotional self somewhere along the way. I had not intended for my emotions to run amok, but the flaws and faults in my character were not corrected and had most likely resulted in this emotional hijacking. (I kinda suspected it may have been compounded by some kind of clinical dysfunction, like hormonal imbalance, but that's for the doctor to tell me...)
Losing my emotional self makes me feel vulnerable and fragile; I lose my sense of self. While I'm far from recovering, I'm trying very hard to repair the damage before it destroys me in its stranglehold.
In a nutshell
Looking back, it had been a difficult year. Though not completely gloomy, it did drain a lot of energy from my inner self. I felt I had lost a lot of youth and zeal in threading through this 'prime time' of my life. It makes me feel tired and old.
I long for an enthusiastic and energetic life.
I long for good times and close bonds with friends.
I long for a goal I can wake up eagerly to every morning.
I long for a peaceful mind and heart.
And such is life that we have many things we long for, and they can come to us but at hefty price. I hope to face the new year with a better frame of mind, clear heart, and renewed enthusiasm for life. I will continue to seek for answers to my unanswered questions, fix my flaws and faults, and regain sight of myself.
I think what I really need is a long break to rejuvenate my weary soul.
Hopefully, 2009 won't be suckier than what 2008 was already.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
A Lie The Truth
When pain is all the body remembers,
And tears fall in spite memory blurs.
When the line between right and wrong disappears,
And the heart and mind succumbs to nothingness,
Lingering behind only in emptiness.
When a smile is a mask,
And a laugh is a farce,
A word a lie,
And a lie the truth.
～みはる～
And tears fall in spite memory blurs.
When the line between right and wrong disappears,
And the heart and mind succumbs to nothingness,
Lingering behind only in emptiness.
When a smile is a mask,
And a laugh is a farce,
A word a lie,
And a lie the truth.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
平成２０日本語能力試験２級
今朝平成２０の日本語能力試験２級を無事でやって終わりました。
昨夜からずっと緊張していて、なかなか眠れなかったが、なんとかなりました。
「文字・語彙」と「文法」へんが自信が持っていたんですが、一番よく練習したの「聴解」はちょっとひどかったよ。がんばってちゃんと聞くんけど、ある会話の内容をとれなかったの。
しかし、一番うれしいのは「読解」です。いつも練習するときとても下手にやったが、今日のは少なくとも文章の内容がほとんどわかりました。でも、答えは正解かはずれか知らないから、ちょっと心配だ。
まあ、もう試験が終わったから、しょうがないな。
正直、あたしは水崎先生にとても感謝しました。先生のおかげで、たくさん勉強をできるし、ほとんど大事なポイントを覚えてきました。先生、ありがとうございました！
さあ、試験を合格できるかできないかあと三ヶ月ぐらいし、そのまでに、日本語の勉強をがんばってつづけているものだ！
I've finished my JLPT2 exam!
Crammed A LOT of grammar and vocabulary into my head, and probably used only 50% of it this morning. Didn't have much problem with the first paper (Writing & Vocabulary), but to my dismay, Listening was not as easy as expected. There were a few questions where I'd be listening very intently and then go, "hahh?" at the conversation ending abruptly without catching the answer at all. Oshii!
Anyway, I'm kinda happy with the last (and most difficult) paper, Reading Comprehension & Grammar. I thought this paper is kinda a goner because the Comprehension part takes up almost 50% of the entire exam and I am terrible at it. Imagine, the time limit for the paper is 70mins, and during my practice with past year papers, I took 70mins for 25 out of 65 questions. I had some sort of a mental preparation that I wouldn't be able to finish the paper and may have to resort to picking either A,B,C or D by complete random guessing. To my pleasant surprise, I managed to finish every single question in the nick of time.
Think I'll be able to pass, just hoping to score higher than the passing percentage. And if I do, I have MZ-sensei to thank. She's the best-est Japanese teacher EVER!!
Sensei, arigatou!!
～みはる～
昨夜からずっと緊張していて、なかなか眠れなかったが、なんとかなりました。
「文字・語彙」と「文法」へんが自信が持っていたんですが、一番よく練習したの「聴解」はちょっとひどかったよ。がんばってちゃんと聞くんけど、ある会話の内容をとれなかったの。
しかし、一番うれしいのは「読解」です。いつも練習するときとても下手にやったが、今日のは少なくとも文章の内容がほとんどわかりました。でも、答えは正解かはずれか知らないから、ちょっと心配だ。
まあ、もう試験が終わったから、しょうがないな。
正直、あたしは水崎先生にとても感謝しました。先生のおかげで、たくさん勉強をできるし、ほとんど大事なポイントを覚えてきました。先生、ありがとうございました！
さあ、試験を合格できるかできないかあと三ヶ月ぐらいし、そのまでに、日本語の勉強をがんばってつづけているものだ！
I've finished my JLPT2 exam!
Crammed A LOT of grammar and vocabulary into my head, and probably used only 50% of it this morning. Didn't have much problem with the first paper (Writing & Vocabulary), but to my dismay, Listening was not as easy as expected. There were a few questions where I'd be listening very intently and then go, "hahh?" at the conversation ending abruptly without catching the answer at all. Oshii!
Anyway, I'm kinda happy with the last (and most difficult) paper, Reading Comprehension & Grammar. I thought this paper is kinda a goner because the Comprehension part takes up almost 50% of the entire exam and I am terrible at it. Imagine, the time limit for the paper is 70mins, and during my practice with past year papers, I took 70mins for 25 out of 65 questions. I had some sort of a mental preparation that I wouldn't be able to finish the paper and may have to resort to picking either A,B,C or D by complete random guessing. To my pleasant surprise, I managed to finish every single question in the nick of time.
Think I'll be able to pass, just hoping to score higher than the passing percentage. And if I do, I have MZ-sensei to thank. She's the best-est Japanese teacher EVER!!
Sensei, arigatou!!
～みはる～
By
Miharu
むかつく
There's a newcomer, Z, in the lab whom I have to babysit and whom I'd like to clobber.
In just two days, Z managed to severely irritate a good-natured resident (yours sincerely) with a smart-alecky attitude and long-winded speeches.
I wish Z would just shut the hell up and listen to what I have to convey before interjecting me at every 5 seconds with her great knowledge. And learn to take a hint when I'm not receptive to her damn long stories. Some of us have lots of work and are very busy, okay?
Argh, I need to let off steam.
On a side note, will be busy preparing for JLPT Level 2.
The amount of vocabulary and grammar to memorize is just insane!!!
～みはる～
In just two days, Z managed to severely irritate a good-natured resident (yours sincerely) with a smart-alecky attitude and long-winded speeches.
I wish Z would just shut the hell up and listen to what I have to convey before interjecting me at every 5 seconds with her great knowledge. And learn to take a hint when I'm not receptive to her damn long stories. Some of us have lots of work and are very busy, okay?
Argh, I need to let off steam.
On a side note, will be busy preparing for JLPT Level 2.
The amount of vocabulary and grammar to memorize is just insane!!!
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Mumbai terrorism
For some unknown reason, I grieve for the lives lost in the Mumbai terrorist attack.
In the face of today's society, where smattering of terrorist attacks erupt here and there from time to time, I had become quite immune to news of terrorism. I mean, it is so frequent, especially in politically unstable countries, that there is no longer an element of surprise or sympathy.
But strangely, when news of foreigners being indiscriminately killed by terrorists in Mumbai broke out, it evoked fear, pain and sadness in me. As the hours crawl by and the figure of foreigners killed in cold blood continue to rise in leaps, this great magnitude of sadness gripped my heart. How can innocent lives be lost to cold-blood murder?
I pray for the souls of the innocent, who were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I pray for the safety of the hostages, who are still at the mercy of the killers and clinging on to a hope for life.
The cold-blooded terrorists must be damned.
They have just robbed more than 150 families of their loved ones, orphaned hundreds of children, all without a single trace of remorse. What have our society become of?
I cry for the lives so unjustly lost.
～みはる～
In the face of today's society, where smattering of terrorist attacks erupt here and there from time to time, I had become quite immune to news of terrorism. I mean, it is so frequent, especially in politically unstable countries, that there is no longer an element of surprise or sympathy.
But strangely, when news of foreigners being indiscriminately killed by terrorists in Mumbai broke out, it evoked fear, pain and sadness in me. As the hours crawl by and the figure of foreigners killed in cold blood continue to rise in leaps, this great magnitude of sadness gripped my heart. How can innocent lives be lost to cold-blood murder?
I pray for the souls of the innocent, who were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
I pray for the safety of the hostages, who are still at the mercy of the killers and clinging on to a hope for life.
The cold-blooded terrorists must be damned.
They have just robbed more than 150 families of their loved ones, orphaned hundreds of children, all without a single trace of remorse. What have our society become of?
I cry for the lives so unjustly lost.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
AIDS awareness
You've got to hand it to Andy Lau for coming up with something like this.
Creativity elevates AIDS awareness campaign to greater heights.
Most interesting community-service commercial ever.
～みはる～
Creativity elevates AIDS awareness campaign to greater heights.
Most interesting community-service commercial ever.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Benglish Translation
HC made my day by sending me a benglish translation of my blog here. I can't get by a sentence without laughing my tears out.
So this is what my blog may have looked like had I not been given proper English lessons.
English in crude Hokkien style.
Thanks to Kenny Sia, you can Benglish translate someone's blog now!
～みはる～
So this is what my blog may have looked like had I not been given proper English lessons.
English in crude Hokkien style.
Thanks to Kenny Sia, you can Benglish translate someone's blog now!
～みはる～
By
Miharu
The 200th
Never did I expect to ramble up to 200 entries when I started this blog.
I love writing. Toyed with the idea of a writing career even. (You know, in high school when we were forced to fill in the blank for "Cita-cita Saya" (Malay: "My Ambition") in our profile records and after reading a pile of really good novels in Literature Class I got all fired up to write one myself.) But often, I find myself 100 steps ahead my penning down of thoughts. Writing would then slow my speed of imagination and retard the rest of my cognitive function (I'm a lousy multitasker, yes). So, I'll just keep thinking and leave writing to the pros.
I digressed.
When I started Miharu's musings, I really just wanted a virtual space of my own and pen my thoughts on matters in the reality. Like raving over a recently read book. Or releasing squees over the currently airing animation (well, nobody in real life is interested in all the technicalities and artistics of my anime talk...) Like bleeting frustrations over my study-cum-work life. Or bitching about the last person who riled my nerves. Or shouting out happy feelings that are too much to contain. Though initially it was more of jotting down of my emotions on recent happenings in life, inadvertently, writing each entry became a musing to me. (Pun not intended) As I put my thoughts in writing, I see in black-and-white my emotional and intellectual self and revisit those impressions to put things in perspective. Unwittingly, Miharu's musings evolved true to its name.
Of course, it is also a journal that keeps my friends abreast with my current status and incredibly, helps me keep touch with old friends. I never expected readership, but thank you to readers (if any) who do read my unexciting entries.
Along that line, I opted pseudonymity as I preferred writing and looking at my blog as a detached person. To me, it's like shedding off my reality mask and expressing honest thoughts without having to worry what other people in real life would think. Admittedly, I'm not the assertive kind and though I hold my views, I find myself rarely sharing them in real life simply because I feel the real world is, most of the time but not always, too shallow for such ruminations. I feel reality is most of the time hypocritical and lacking depth in thought and sincerity, hence it is simply bothersome, not to mention tiring, to assert honest views in such a community. For that reason, I often am unwilling to discuss blog entries in real life; blog is where my pen personality dominates and thoughts are uncensored to hypocritical standards.
～みはる～
I love writing. Toyed with the idea of a writing career even. (You know, in high school when we were forced to fill in the blank for "Cita-cita Saya" (Malay: "My Ambition") in our profile records and after reading a pile of really good novels in Literature Class I got all fired up to write one myself.) But often, I find myself 100 steps ahead my penning down of thoughts. Writing would then slow my speed of imagination and retard the rest of my cognitive function (I'm a lousy multitasker, yes). So, I'll just keep thinking and leave writing to the pros.
I digressed.
When I started Miharu's musings, I really just wanted a virtual space of my own and pen my thoughts on matters in the reality. Like raving over a recently read book. Or releasing squees over the currently airing animation (well, nobody in real life is interested in all the technicalities and artistics of my anime talk...) Like bleeting frustrations over my study-cum-work life. Or bitching about the last person who riled my nerves. Or shouting out happy feelings that are too much to contain. Though initially it was more of jotting down of my emotions on recent happenings in life, inadvertently, writing each entry became a musing to me. (Pun not intended) As I put my thoughts in writing, I see in black-and-white my emotional and intellectual self and revisit those impressions to put things in perspective. Unwittingly, Miharu's musings evolved true to its name.
Of course, it is also a journal that keeps my friends abreast with my current status and incredibly, helps me keep touch with old friends. I never expected readership, but thank you to readers (if any) who do read my unexciting entries.
Along that line, I opted pseudonymity as I preferred writing and looking at my blog as a detached person. To me, it's like shedding off my reality mask and expressing honest thoughts without having to worry what other people in real life would think. Admittedly, I'm not the assertive kind and though I hold my views, I find myself rarely sharing them in real life simply because I feel the real world is, most of the time but not always, too shallow for such ruminations. I feel reality is most of the time hypocritical and lacking depth in thought and sincerity, hence it is simply bothersome, not to mention tiring, to assert honest views in such a community. For that reason, I often am unwilling to discuss blog entries in real life; blog is where my pen personality dominates and thoughts are uncensored to hypocritical standards.
"The most potent muse of all is our own inner child."
- Stephen Nachmanovitch -
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Ig Nobel Prize
Like many in (and out of) the scientific community, I'm aware of the Nobel Prize being one of the most honorable recognition of a scientist's career. Every year we applaud and appreciate the achievements and contributions (though most of the time, belatedly) of the Nobel Laureates in their respective fields. The Nobel Prizes awarded are for Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and Peace; as well as an associated award named Prize in Economics. You can review the list of 2008 winners here.
What I wasn't aware of was the existence of Ig Nobel Prize, the parody of Nobel Prizes. Ten 'prizes' are awarded annually to commemorate achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think".
Now, before you think this is a joke or fiction, all the achievements are real scientific work published in peer-reviewed journals. I kid you not. It is a funnily serious matter. What I couldn't quite comprehend was how they obtained funding to do this kind of stuff, for example, awards for:
1991 Chemistry - Jacques Benveniste, for his persistent discovery that water, H2O, is an intelligent liquid, and for demonstrating to his satisfaction that water is able to remember events long after all trace of those events has vanished. Published in Nature 1988.
1993 Medicine - Nolan, Stillwell, and Sands, for their painstaking research report, "Acute Management of the Zipper-Entrapped Penis." Published in Journal of Emergency Medicine 1990.
1995 Psychology -Watanabe, Sakamoto, and Wakita, of Keio University, for their success in training pigeons to discriminate between the paintings of Picasso and those of Monet. Published in Journal of Experimental Analysis Behaviour 1995.
1997 Peace -Harold Hillman of the University of Surrey, for his lovingly rendered and ultimately peaceful report "The Possible Pain Experienced During Execution by Different Methods." Published in Perception 1993.
1998 Statistics -Bain and Siminoski for their carefully measured report, "The Relationship Among Height, Penile Length, and Foot Size." Published in Annals of Sex Research 1993.
1999 Managed Health Care - the late George and Charlotte Blonsky, for inventing a device to aid women in giving birth -- the woman is strapped onto a circular table, and the table is then rotated at high speed. US Patent #3,216,423.
2000 Chemistry - Marazziti, Rossi, and Cassano, for their discovery that, biochemically, romantic love may be indistinguishable from having severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. Published in Psychological Medicine 1999.
2001 Economics - Slemrod and Kopczuk, for their conclusion that people find a way to postpone their deaths if that that would qualify them for a lower rate on the inheritance tax. Published in National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. W8158, 2001.
2002 Physics - Leike of the University of Munich, for demonstrating that beer froth obeys the mathematical Law of Exponential Decay. Published in European Journal of Physics 2002.
2003 Physics -Harvey et al of Australia, for their irresistible report "An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces." Published in Applied Ergonomics 2002.
2004 Biology - Wilson et. al, for showing that herrings apparently communicate by farting. "Pacific and Atlantic Herring Produce Burst Pulse Sounds." Published in Biology Letters 2003.
2005 Economics - Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to the workday.
2006 Physics - Audoly and Neukirch of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, for their insights into why, when you bend dry spaghetti, it often breaks into more than two pieces. "Fragmentation of Rods by Cascading Cracks: Why Spaghetti Does Not Break in Half". Published in Physical Review Letters 2005.
2007 Physics - Mahadevan (Harvard University) and Villablance, for studying how sheets become wrinkled. "Geometry and Physics of Wrinkling." Published in Physical Review Letters 2003.
And the ten Ig Nobel Laureates of 2008 are:
Archealogy - Araujo and Marcelino of Universidade de São Paulo, for measuring how the course of history, or at least the contents of an archaeological dig site, can be scrambled by the actions of a live armadillo. Published in Geoarchealogy 2003.
Biology - Cadiergues, Joubert, and Franc of Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse, for discovering that the fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than the fleas that live on a cat. "A Comparison of Jump Performances of the Dog Flea, Ctenocephalides canis and the Cat Flea, Ctenocephalides felis felis." Published in Veterinary Parasitology 2000.
Chemistry - Umpierre, Hill, Anderson (Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School), for discovering that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide, and to Hong, Shieh, Wu, and Chiang (all of Taiwan) for discovering that it is not. Published in New England Journal of Medicine 1985, and Human & Experimental Toxicology 1987.
Cognitive Science - Nakagaki, Yamada, Kobayashi, Tero, Ishiguro, and Toth, for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles. "Intelligence: Maze-Solving by an Amoeboid Organism." Published in Nature 2000.
Economics - Miller, Tybur, Jordan of the University of New Mexico, for discovering that professional lap dancers earn higher tips when they are ovulating. "Ovulatory Cycle Effects on Tip Earnings by Lap Dancers; Economic Evidence for Human Estrus?" Published in Evolution and Human Behaviour 2007.
Literature - David Sims of UK, for his lovingly written study "You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations." Published in Organizational Studies Vol.26, 2005.
Medicine - Ariely (Duke University), Waber (MIT), Shiv (Stanford University) and Carmon (INSEAD), for demonstrating that high-priced fake medicine is more effective than low-priced fake medicine. "Commercial Features of Placebo and Therapeutic Efficacy." Published in Journal of the American Medical Association 2008.
Nutrition - Zampini (University of Trento) and Spence (Oxford University), for electronically modifying the sound of a potato chip make the person chewing the chip believe it to be crisper and fresher than it really is. "The Role of Auditory Cues in Modulating the Perceived Crispness and Staleness of Potato Chips." Published in Journal of Sensory Studies 2004.
Peace - The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity. "The Dignity of Living Beings With Regard to Plants. Moral Consideration of Plants for Their Own Sake." ECNH.
Physics - Raymer and Smith (University of California), for proving mathematically that heaps of string or hair or almost anything else will inevitably tangle themselves up in knots. "Spontaneous Knotting of An Agitated String." Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2007.
Says who scientists aren't funny people?
Have a good laugh!
Visit the official Ig Nobel Prize website: Improbable Research
～みはる～
What I wasn't aware of was the existence of Ig Nobel Prize, the parody of Nobel Prizes. Ten 'prizes' are awarded annually to commemorate achievements that "first make people laugh, and then make them think".
Now, before you think this is a joke or fiction, all the achievements are real scientific work published in peer-reviewed journals. I kid you not. It is a funnily serious matter. What I couldn't quite comprehend was how they obtained funding to do this kind of stuff, for example, awards for:
1991 Chemistry - Jacques Benveniste, for his persistent discovery that water, H2O, is an intelligent liquid, and for demonstrating to his satisfaction that water is able to remember events long after all trace of those events has vanished. Published in Nature 1988.
1993 Medicine - Nolan, Stillwell, and Sands, for their painstaking research report, "Acute Management of the Zipper-Entrapped Penis." Published in Journal of Emergency Medicine 1990.
1995 Psychology -Watanabe, Sakamoto, and Wakita, of Keio University, for their success in training pigeons to discriminate between the paintings of Picasso and those of Monet. Published in Journal of Experimental Analysis Behaviour 1995.
1997 Peace -Harold Hillman of the University of Surrey, for his lovingly rendered and ultimately peaceful report "The Possible Pain Experienced During Execution by Different Methods." Published in Perception 1993.
1998 Statistics -Bain and Siminoski for their carefully measured report, "The Relationship Among Height, Penile Length, and Foot Size." Published in Annals of Sex Research 1993.
1999 Managed Health Care - the late George and Charlotte Blonsky, for inventing a device to aid women in giving birth -- the woman is strapped onto a circular table, and the table is then rotated at high speed. US Patent #3,216,423.
2000 Chemistry - Marazziti, Rossi, and Cassano, for their discovery that, biochemically, romantic love may be indistinguishable from having severe obsessive-compulsive disorder. Published in Psychological Medicine 1999.
2001 Economics - Slemrod and Kopczuk, for their conclusion that people find a way to postpone their deaths if that that would qualify them for a lower rate on the inheritance tax. Published in National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. W8158, 2001.
2002 Physics - Leike of the University of Munich, for demonstrating that beer froth obeys the mathematical Law of Exponential Decay. Published in European Journal of Physics 2002.
2003 Physics -Harvey et al of Australia, for their irresistible report "An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces." Published in Applied Ergonomics 2002.
2004 Biology - Wilson et. al, for showing that herrings apparently communicate by farting. "Pacific and Atlantic Herring Produce Burst Pulse Sounds." Published in Biology Letters 2003.
2005 Economics - Gauri Nanda of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for inventing an alarm clock that runs away and hides, repeatedly, thus ensuring that people DO get out of bed, and thus theoretically adding many productive hours to the workday.
2006 Physics - Audoly and Neukirch of the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, for their insights into why, when you bend dry spaghetti, it often breaks into more than two pieces. "Fragmentation of Rods by Cascading Cracks: Why Spaghetti Does Not Break in Half". Published in Physical Review Letters 2005.
2007 Physics - Mahadevan (Harvard University) and Villablance, for studying how sheets become wrinkled. "Geometry and Physics of Wrinkling." Published in Physical Review Letters 2003.
And the ten Ig Nobel Laureates of 2008 are:
Archealogy - Araujo and Marcelino of Universidade de São Paulo, for measuring how the course of history, or at least the contents of an archaeological dig site, can be scrambled by the actions of a live armadillo. Published in Geoarchealogy 2003.
Biology - Cadiergues, Joubert, and Franc of Ecole Nationale Veterinaire de Toulouse, for discovering that the fleas that live on a dog can jump higher than the fleas that live on a cat. "A Comparison of Jump Performances of the Dog Flea, Ctenocephalides canis and the Cat Flea, Ctenocephalides felis felis." Published in Veterinary Parasitology 2000.
Chemistry - Umpierre, Hill, Anderson (Boston University School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School), for discovering that Coca-Cola is an effective spermicide, and to Hong, Shieh, Wu, and Chiang (all of Taiwan) for discovering that it is not. Published in New England Journal of Medicine 1985, and Human & Experimental Toxicology 1987.
Cognitive Science - Nakagaki, Yamada, Kobayashi, Tero, Ishiguro, and Toth, for discovering that slime molds can solve puzzles. "Intelligence: Maze-Solving by an Amoeboid Organism." Published in Nature 2000.
Economics - Miller, Tybur, Jordan of the University of New Mexico, for discovering that professional lap dancers earn higher tips when they are ovulating. "Ovulatory Cycle Effects on Tip Earnings by Lap Dancers; Economic Evidence for Human Estrus?" Published in Evolution and Human Behaviour 2007.
Literature - David Sims of UK, for his lovingly written study "You Bastard: A Narrative Exploration of the Experience of Indignation within Organizations." Published in Organizational Studies Vol.26, 2005.
Medicine - Ariely (Duke University), Waber (MIT), Shiv (Stanford University) and Carmon (INSEAD), for demonstrating that high-priced fake medicine is more effective than low-priced fake medicine. "Commercial Features of Placebo and Therapeutic Efficacy." Published in Journal of the American Medical Association 2008.
Nutrition - Zampini (University of Trento) and Spence (Oxford University), for electronically modifying the sound of a potato chip make the person chewing the chip believe it to be crisper and fresher than it really is. "The Role of Auditory Cues in Modulating the Perceived Crispness and Staleness of Potato Chips." Published in Journal of Sensory Studies 2004.
Peace - The Swiss Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology (ECNH) and the citizens of Switzerland for adopting the legal principle that plants have dignity. "The Dignity of Living Beings With Regard to Plants. Moral Consideration of Plants for Their Own Sake." ECNH.
Physics - Raymer and Smith (University of California), for proving mathematically that heaps of string or hair or almost anything else will inevitably tangle themselves up in knots. "Spontaneous Knotting of An Agitated String." Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2007.
Says who scientists aren't funny people?
Have a good laugh!
Visit the official Ig Nobel Prize website: Improbable Research
～みはる～
By
Miharu
New Kid On The Block
We've got Garfield checking in to our cat shelter.
Siren has been missing for several months now, and according to Mum, she's mostly like drowned in the monsoon drain. I'd think she eloped with the tomcat from the adjacent lane though.
But this new kitten has a special coat. I've never seen a stray that is orange. Very reminiscent of Garfield. I wonder if it indulges in lasagna too.
Although it's kinda nice knowing there's another 'pet' hanging around, it can't seem to really replace the affection we had for Siren. She's like... a first love. Adopted at infancy and watching her grow into adulthood, it's like nurturing a seedling with affection and care. And there's a kind of loneliness and sadness when she's gone (eloping with some tomcat!!)
I supposed that's why I never want to keep pets. I've got a bad case of Empty Nest Syndrome.
～みはる～
Siren has been missing for several months now, and according to Mum, she's mostly like drowned in the monsoon drain. I'd think she eloped with the tomcat from the adjacent lane though.
But this new kitten has a special coat. I've never seen a stray that is orange. Very reminiscent of Garfield. I wonder if it indulges in lasagna too.
Although it's kinda nice knowing there's another 'pet' hanging around, it can't seem to really replace the affection we had for Siren. She's like... a first love. Adopted at infancy and watching her grow into adulthood, it's like nurturing a seedling with affection and care. And there's a kind of loneliness and sadness when she's gone (eloping with some tomcat!!)
I supposed that's why I never want to keep pets. I've got a bad case of Empty Nest Syndrome.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
新海誠
最近、新海誠の作品が興味になった。
何だか話がすごくせつなくて、心から痛感せずにはいられない。
また、アニメーションも音楽もとても上手にできて、劇版を見るときすごく感動した。
まさに才能であるに違いない、新海誠は。
１９９９年 － 彼女と彼女の猫 (She and Her Cat)
２００２年 － ほしのこえ (Voices of a Distant Star)
２００４年 － 雲のむこう、約束の場所 (Beyond the Clouds, The Place Promised in Our Early Days)
２００７年 － 秒速５センチメートル (5 Centimetres Per Second)
～みはる～
何だか話がすごくせつなくて、心から痛感せずにはいられない。
また、アニメーションも音楽もとても上手にできて、劇版を見るときすごく感動した。
まさに才能であるに違いない、新海誠は。
１９９９年 － 彼女と彼女の猫 (She and Her Cat)
２００２年 － ほしのこえ (Voices of a Distant Star)
２００４年 － 雲のむこう、約束の場所 (Beyond the Clouds, The Place Promised in Our Early Days)
２００７年 － 秒速５センチメートル (5 Centimetres Per Second)
～みはる～
By
Miharu
雲のむこう、約束の場所
I have a thing for Shinkai Makoto's animation.
His graphics = jewels for the eye.
I was first attracted to Shinkai's most recent work, Byousoku 5 Senchimetoru.
Then recently, I digged up an older masterpiece by the master himself.
After watching two of his movies, my first thought was - graphic orgy.
While it differs amongst anime fans, I believe Shinkai captures his audience primarily with his bloody gorgeous graphics and seamless animation. To me, there's no better word other than 'beautiful'. I can just fall in love with the graphics alone.
As for his storytelling, I'm inclined to think it's not one many people can appreciate. It's hardly action-packed or incredibly climatic, but I love his subtle style. He drives home thought- and emotion-provoking notions using ubiquitous elements: wind, clouds, birds, sky, flowers, dreams, music. He threads everyday moments - the wait for trains at platforms, the setting of the sun, the morning flight of the birds, the silent fall of the snow, the whisper of the summer wind - to deliver impactful scenes, enabling the audience to make an emotional connection. Hence, I find his style of storytelling leaning towards a more romantic yet thoughtful style. His stories are akin to onions; you need to peel off layer by layer to appreciate the essence of his ideas.
Beyond The Clouds, The Place Promised In Our Early Days (Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho) is a moving story set in the times of war between US, Soviet Union and Japan. It follows two boys, Hiroki and Takuya, and a girl, Sayuri, and how dreams, promises, and parallel reality held the three of them together.
A subtle, romantic science fiction dramatic animation delivered in beautiful graphic art. I think only Shinkai Makoto can achieve this wonderful bittersweet aftertaste.
Highly recommended.
Images from Shinkai Makoto's site.
～みはる～
His graphics = jewels for the eye.
I was first attracted to Shinkai's most recent work, Byousoku 5 Senchimetoru.
秒速５センチメトール （２００７年）
Then recently, I digged up an older masterpiece by the master himself.
雲のむこう、約束の場所 （２００４年）
After watching two of his movies, my first thought was - graphic orgy.
While it differs amongst anime fans, I believe Shinkai captures his audience primarily with his bloody gorgeous graphics and seamless animation. To me, there's no better word other than 'beautiful'. I can just fall in love with the graphics alone.
As for his storytelling, I'm inclined to think it's not one many people can appreciate. It's hardly action-packed or incredibly climatic, but I love his subtle style. He drives home thought- and emotion-provoking notions using ubiquitous elements: wind, clouds, birds, sky, flowers, dreams, music. He threads everyday moments - the wait for trains at platforms, the setting of the sun, the morning flight of the birds, the silent fall of the snow, the whisper of the summer wind - to deliver impactful scenes, enabling the audience to make an emotional connection. Hence, I find his style of storytelling leaning towards a more romantic yet thoughtful style. His stories are akin to onions; you need to peel off layer by layer to appreciate the essence of his ideas.
Beyond The Clouds, The Place Promised In Our Early Days (Kumo no Mukou, Yakusoku no Basho) is a moving story set in the times of war between US, Soviet Union and Japan. It follows two boys, Hiroki and Takuya, and a girl, Sayuri, and how dreams, promises, and parallel reality held the three of them together.
A subtle, romantic science fiction dramatic animation delivered in beautiful graphic art. I think only Shinkai Makoto can achieve this wonderful bittersweet aftertaste.
Highly recommended.
Images from Shinkai Makoto's site.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Miharu's Magnet
This fridge magnet made my day.
Couldn't help bursting a chuckle. It's like my thoughts got written in black and white.
This is officially MY magnet >.<
～みはる～
Couldn't help bursting a chuckle. It's like my thoughts got written in black and white.
This is officially MY magnet >.<
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Happy for you
Have you ever felt truly happy for someone? The kind without a single trace of envy even though their achievement or reward is something you had dreamed for yourself?
Of late, I had a few experiences of such child-like happiness for other people.
First was when I came to know of my childhood friend's engagement. I was incredibly elated that she is a step closer to holy matrimony with her sweetheart of many years. Although surprised by the news, my heart was bursting with sincere happiness for her. I'm just so so so happy for her. Congratulations Gracie!!!
Then came the news that one of my high school classmate's safe delivery of her baby girl. I haven't heard from her for such a long time and now not only she's married, she's got a baby girl! I'm just so incredibly overjoyed she has given birth to a lovely baby. Congratulations WM!!!
I can't really find the words to express the feeling of happiness that filled my heart when I received the news. It's like, from the bottom of my heart, I'm just plain happy for them. And I'm not even envious, just truly happy. Man, I feel like a grown-up.
～みはる～
Of late, I had a few experiences of such child-like happiness for other people.
First was when I came to know of my childhood friend's engagement. I was incredibly elated that she is a step closer to holy matrimony with her sweetheart of many years. Although surprised by the news, my heart was bursting with sincere happiness for her. I'm just so so so happy for her. Congratulations Gracie!!!
Then came the news that one of my high school classmate's safe delivery of her baby girl. I haven't heard from her for such a long time and now not only she's married, she's got a baby girl! I'm just so incredibly overjoyed she has given birth to a lovely baby. Congratulations WM!!!
I can't really find the words to express the feeling of happiness that filled my heart when I received the news. It's like, from the bottom of my heart, I'm just plain happy for them. And I'm not even envious, just truly happy. Man, I feel like a grown-up.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Cheesy
It feels like Christmas digging my music archives. The pop songs from my schoolgirl days in the '90s totally transported me back in time to those days of Scouts gathering performances and nights of campfire free dances. That Spice Girl 'Wannabe' dance. That Britney Spears moves. And memories of us girls mooning over boybands... we actually tailed the band 98degrees all the way to the airport check-in gate. No kidding. I still keep the collection of personally autographed postcards in my treasure box.
A wave of nostalgia washed over when I bumped into this on Youtube:
It's so cheesy and wonderfully nostalgic at the same time.
But this takes the cake. It makes me feel 13 all over again.
I loved my teenage life.
～みはる～
A wave of nostalgia washed over when I bumped into this on Youtube:
It's so cheesy and wonderfully nostalgic at the same time.
But this takes the cake. It makes me feel 13 all over again.
I loved my teenage life.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Strange
Had a couple of strange incidences lately.
Was trawling a health bazaar in campus with my colleagues, YN and LB, when we passed by a stall with this really HUGE palm banner peppered with testimonials in all possible languages. As my colleagues pressed me to read a Japanese article hanging from the banner, the chirologist uncle, who was till then sitting languidly with no customers to serve, snapped his head around and asked to see 'the fish' in our palms. As if to convince us, he held out his palm and pointed knowingly to a Stickman-sketch of, what we were told to believe is, a fish. Really, it's just lines on the palm that so happen to criss-cross to give the man an illusion of a flipper.
As he scrutinized our palms, he confidently threw us into default categories with his diagnoses.
To YN, "You are a very efficient and strong-willed person. Your boss won't sack you, you will sack your boss."
YN stared at him, both incredulous and amused.
Turned to LB and said, "You are a dreamer. And will have problems with your relationship."
LB looked undecidedly wary and bemused.
Finally he took my palm and said, "You know how to enjoy life. And you are highly adaptable. Yes, you are adaptable." He nodded.
I stared at him, looked at my palm, and then back up at him.
At that point, a customer called out to him and he disappeared back to his stall, leaving the three of us staring after him, unsure whether he was for real.
Maybe he was just 'fishing' business afterall.
It baffles me to no end the quality of service at certain fast food outlets.
I was putting my order at a sandwich bar, where you can ask for your preferred bread and fillings. So, when I got to the 'filling' section, this was what transpired:
Me: All vege, but no onions, more lettuce.
Sandwich lady: Okay, no onions, no lettuce.
Me: No, no, no! No on-ions, more let-tuce.
Sandwich lady: Okay, no onions, no olives.
Me: .....
For your information, we were standing only about an arm's apart.
I want olives with my sandwich!!!
The world has gotten so strange.
～みはる～
- Got hit on by a chirologist.
Was trawling a health bazaar in campus with my colleagues, YN and LB, when we passed by a stall with this really HUGE palm banner peppered with testimonials in all possible languages. As my colleagues pressed me to read a Japanese article hanging from the banner, the chirologist uncle, who was till then sitting languidly with no customers to serve, snapped his head around and asked to see 'the fish' in our palms. As if to convince us, he held out his palm and pointed knowingly to a Stickman-sketch of, what we were told to believe is, a fish. Really, it's just lines on the palm that so happen to criss-cross to give the man an illusion of a flipper.
As he scrutinized our palms, he confidently threw us into default categories with his diagnoses.
To YN, "You are a very efficient and strong-willed person. Your boss won't sack you, you will sack your boss."
YN stared at him, both incredulous and amused.
Turned to LB and said, "You are a dreamer. And will have problems with your relationship."
LB looked undecidedly wary and bemused.
Finally he took my palm and said, "You know how to enjoy life. And you are highly adaptable. Yes, you are adaptable." He nodded.
I stared at him, looked at my palm, and then back up at him.
At that point, a customer called out to him and he disappeared back to his stall, leaving the three of us staring after him, unsure whether he was for real.
Maybe he was just 'fishing' business afterall.
- No olives.
It baffles me to no end the quality of service at certain fast food outlets.
I was putting my order at a sandwich bar, where you can ask for your preferred bread and fillings. So, when I got to the 'filling' section, this was what transpired:
Me: All vege, but no onions, more lettuce.
Sandwich lady: Okay, no onions, no lettuce.
Me: No, no, no! No on-ions, more let-tuce.
Sandwich lady: Okay, no onions, no olives.
Me: .....
For your information, we were standing only about an arm's apart.
I want olives with my sandwich!!!
The world has gotten so strange.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
The X Files: I Want To Believe
Wanted to blog on this for almost a month now, but hadn't the time.
Okay, just in case you didn't know, I was and still am a big X-Files fan. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, I was one of those booked the TV and couch on Sunday primetime, indulging in an hour of paranormal and Mulder-Scully-ness. Everybody else in the family can have TV at anytime, except X-Files time. I just love watching Mulder & Scully (or is it David & Gillian) chasing after monsters, aliens, conspiracies, mutants,.... and whatnot.
Gruesome yet thrilling monster-busting. Scandalous government secrets. An odd pair of investigators with contradicting yet complementing characteristics. Scary yet funny. What's not to love about X-Files?! In fact, Scully's embodiment of intellect and science fascinated me to the extent I considered a future in scientific research. (Oh wait. I am in scientific research!)
When the series ended (beautifully) at season 9, as a fan, I was devastated at the notion of discontinued X-Files fix. Imagine my elation, when this second X-Files movie was released. Finally some Mulder-Scully after 6 years. Thank you, Chris Carter!
So I spread the love of X-Files and towed all my lab colleagues to the cinema for some Mulder-Scully goodness. Frankly, I was a tad disappointed by the plot of the movie. It was not as powerful as the series, but hey, for a stand-alone X-File, I think it was not bad. Nevertheless, I felt it could've been better. The climax was too short and the element of Dr Frankenstein is... not X-Files-worthy kind of paranormal. However, it was well above the X-Files standard of gruesome. There were many scenes I could easily tag with the label "GROTESQUE".
The best element of the show is, yet again, Mulder and Scully. It feels like homecoming watching them again, as pair with conflicting ideas who counter and complement each other. You just have to hand it to David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson for the sterling performance. After 6 years hiatus, they still exude every molecule of Mulder-Scullyness in every possible nuance. The relationship was so well played, it appears the dynamics between the two leads did not fade one iota.
Another aspect I find wonderful about this film is the foresight of Chris Carter to tell the story in the flow of time, and at the same time so exquisitely capturing an air of timelessness. In the movie timeline, 6 years has passed by since Mulder and Scully escaped as fugitives. The movie didn't just pick up where the series left, which is great because it leaves you wondering what the hell happened to Mulder and Scully in that 6 years. We see them aged, we see their lives changed, we see the level of their relationship developed; and yet, the essence of them is still there, unchanging. I find this balance of forward-progression and stand-still very intriguing.
While I love this movie nuts, it's not exactly over-the-top fantastic; except maybe, for the dynamic performance of David and Gillian. I have one complaint though: that Scully should never had used Google to search 'Stem Cell Research'. That is pretty unprofessional. They could have scripted her to use scientific literature databases like PubMed or something. Except for this blooper, I'm all over the movie.
Nevertheless, I want to believe that we'll get a third movie which will deal with the December 22 2012 dead-line postulated in the final episode of the final X-Files series (The Truth). I'm dying to know whether the aliens will invade the Earth and turn us all into a slave race.... and how Mulder and Scully's son, William, may have a hand in this.
The truth is still out there.
All images from official website The X-Files: I Want To Believe
～みはる～
"Mulder, why are we here?" "To find the truth, Scully"
Gruesome yet thrilling monster-busting. Scandalous government secrets. An odd pair of investigators with contradicting yet complementing characteristics. Scary yet funny. What's not to love about X-Files?! In fact, Scully's embodiment of intellect and science fascinated me to the extent I considered a future in scientific research. (Oh wait. I am in scientific research!)
When the series ended (beautifully) at season 9, as a fan, I was devastated at the notion of discontinued X-Files fix. Imagine my elation, when this second X-Files movie was released. Finally some Mulder-Scully after 6 years. Thank you, Chris Carter!
Mulder and Scully googles 'pedophile priest'
So I spread the love of X-Files and towed all my lab colleagues to the cinema for some Mulder-Scully goodness. Frankly, I was a tad disappointed by the plot of the movie. It was not as powerful as the series, but hey, for a stand-alone X-File, I think it was not bad. Nevertheless, I felt it could've been better. The climax was too short and the element of Dr Frankenstein is... not X-Files-worthy kind of paranormal. However, it was well above the X-Files standard of gruesome. There were many scenes I could easily tag with the label "GROTESQUE".
"I can't look into the darkness with you anymore, Mulder."
The best element of the show is, yet again, Mulder and Scully. It feels like homecoming watching them again, as pair with conflicting ideas who counter and complement each other. You just have to hand it to David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson for the sterling performance. After 6 years hiatus, they still exude every molecule of Mulder-Scullyness in every possible nuance. The relationship was so well played, it appears the dynamics between the two leads did not fade one iota.
"I'm done chasing monsters in the dark." "I need you in this with me."
Another aspect I find wonderful about this film is the foresight of Chris Carter to tell the story in the flow of time, and at the same time so exquisitely capturing an air of timelessness. In the movie timeline, 6 years has passed by since Mulder and Scully escaped as fugitives. The movie didn't just pick up where the series left, which is great because it leaves you wondering what the hell happened to Mulder and Scully in that 6 years. We see them aged, we see their lives changed, we see the level of their relationship developed; and yet, the essence of them is still there, unchanging. I find this balance of forward-progression and stand-still very intriguing.
Iconic Mulder-Scully shared look.
While I love this movie nuts, it's not exactly over-the-top fantastic; except maybe, for the dynamic performance of David and Gillian. I have one complaint though: that Scully should never had used Google to search 'Stem Cell Research'. That is pretty unprofessional. They could have scripted her to use scientific literature databases like PubMed or something. Except for this blooper, I'm all over the movie.
Nevertheless, I want to believe that we'll get a third movie which will deal with the December 22 2012 dead-line postulated in the final episode of the final X-Files series (The Truth). I'm dying to know whether the aliens will invade the Earth and turn us all into a slave race.... and how Mulder and Scully's son, William, may have a hand in this.
The truth is still out there.
All images from official website The X-Files: I Want To Believe
～みはる～
By
Miharu
Beijing Olympics 2008
The 29th Beijing Olympics opened at 2008-08-08, 8.08pm.
Honestly?
I don't really care.
My athletic-sense is zero and I never held interest in sports longer than the Omega advertisement on TV. Especially in an international sporting event tainted with politics and pollution.
However, I get caught in the tide. Very easily.
With the olympian fervor going on, it's difficult not to get excited about the Games. Especially when your country has a good shot at winning a gold medal; and the unbelievable record-breaking trails.
So I watched the Opening Ceremony. Impressed, I was. The fireworks especially. And the performances were pretty cool. Except that I personally think that the use of humongous number of performers was akin to an overzealous hammering of the notion that the host have people power. Literally. "Don't mess with me, I can outnumber you in a blink."
But I digress.
Nonetheless, I was awed by the show. Had new found respect for the country that has been struggling so hard to prove herself in the eyes of the world.
Until news came pouring that the glossy performance was rigged with piracy.
Fake child songbird on stage.
Fake fireworks.
Fake ethnic child performers.
I do not particularly care about the latter two piracies, but the first really disgusts me. Had a pretty girl to fake the performance simply because the original talent had no looks deemed suitable to be on stage? What kind of message are they trying to send across in a G-rated international event?
The opening ceremony aside, competitions thus far had been amazing. In that we are witnessing some really marvelous sportsmen and sportswomen. However, it's swimmer Michael Phelps of USA who had grabbed the thunder of the Beijing Olympics 2008.
Golds in all 8 swimming events he participated, of which 7 were world record-breaking, and 1 by 1/100 second victory; giving him a total of 14 Olympic golds. This is the new history.
Not to be outdone, Kitajima Kousuke of Japan emerged as the Asian superstar in the pool, with 2 golds, in what I understand was a performance Asians were very proud of.
Closer to home, Malaysia managed to enlist into the finals of badminton men's singles via Lee Chong Wei's brilliant performance. Thanks to him, Malaysians were given an opportunity to be hopeful and to be proud of in the international arena. He pushed his way into the finals, and like many Malaysians in the motherland and all over the world, I eagerly followed the finals match. How can I be not excited, when the athlete from my homestate is playing for gold in the Olympics. The catch, however, is that he has to play against the person seeded above him: Lin Dan of China.
So, I started off ambitious.
Slam the top seed in his home ground and bring us our first gold.
Maybe not so harsh.
Just bring us our first gold.
But Lin Dan is a great player and not ranked top seed for nothing.
Okay, play 3 games and win 2 with slim majority.
Lin Dan had been playing pretty effortlessly so far.
Fine, silver medal, but play 3 games. 21-18, 18-21, 20-21.
Alright, silver with 2 games still okay. 18-21, 20-21.
Ultimately, we lost 2 games: 12-21, 8-21.
Pretty disappointed that it wasn't a good game at all. Lee Chong Wei made a lot of errors, the most vexing one being the gold medal point: Lin Dan got it free due to his mistake. Sien. Lee Chong Wei didn't appear to be in top form, but to be fair, Lin Dan was really good. He simply outclassed Chong Wei. The smashes were evil. And during the first game, he had Chong Wei running all over the court whilst he appeared to barely break a sweat running.
Oh well, a silver is better than none. Thank you, Chong Wei.
At least, he made it to the final game.
Thus it appears while my athletic-sense is zilch, I do still enjoy watching sports. Heeh.
～みはる～
Disclaimer: None of the images are mine. All were google-d.
Honestly?
I don't really care.
My athletic-sense is zero and I never held interest in sports longer than the Omega advertisement on TV. Especially in an international sporting event tainted with politics and pollution.
However, I get caught in the tide. Very easily.
With the olympian fervor going on, it's difficult not to get excited about the Games. Especially when your country has a good shot at winning a gold medal; and the unbelievable record-breaking trails.
So I watched the Opening Ceremony. Impressed, I was. The fireworks especially. And the performances were pretty cool. Except that I personally think that the use of humongous number of performers was akin to an overzealous hammering of the notion that the host have people power. Literally. "Don't mess with me, I can outnumber you in a blink."
But I digress.
Nonetheless, I was awed by the show. Had new found respect for the country that has been struggling so hard to prove herself in the eyes of the world.
Until news came pouring that the glossy performance was rigged with piracy.
Fake child songbird on stage.
Fake fireworks.
Fake ethnic child performers.
I do not particularly care about the latter two piracies, but the first really disgusts me. Had a pretty girl to fake the performance simply because the original talent had no looks deemed suitable to be on stage? What kind of message are they trying to send across in a G-rated international event?
The opening ceremony aside, competitions thus far had been amazing. In that we are witnessing some really marvelous sportsmen and sportswomen. However, it's swimmer Michael Phelps of USA who had grabbed the thunder of the Beijing Olympics 2008.
Phelps, the new God of the Pool
Golds in all 8 swimming events he participated, of which 7 were world record-breaking, and 1 by 1/100 second victory; giving him a total of 14 Olympic golds. This is the new history.
Not to be outdone, Kitajima Kousuke of Japan emerged as the Asian superstar in the pool, with 2 golds, in what I understand was a performance Asians were very proud of.
Pride of Asia in the Pool
Closer to home, Malaysia managed to enlist into the finals of badminton men's singles via Lee Chong Wei's brilliant performance. Thanks to him, Malaysians were given an opportunity to be hopeful and to be proud of in the international arena. He pushed his way into the finals, and like many Malaysians in the motherland and all over the world, I eagerly followed the finals match. How can I be not excited, when the athlete from my homestate is playing for gold in the Olympics. The catch, however, is that he has to play against the person seeded above him: Lin Dan of China.
So, I started off ambitious.
Slam the top seed in his home ground and bring us our first gold.
Maybe not so harsh.
Just bring us our first gold.
But Lin Dan is a great player and not ranked top seed for nothing.
Okay, play 3 games and win 2 with slim majority.
Lin Dan had been playing pretty effortlessly so far.
Fine, silver medal, but play 3 games. 21-18, 18-21, 20-21.
Alright, silver with 2 games still okay. 18-21, 20-21.
Ultimately, we lost 2 games: 12-21, 8-21.
I had wanted that look in the finals
Pretty disappointed that it wasn't a good game at all. Lee Chong Wei made a lot of errors, the most vexing one being the gold medal point: Lin Dan got it free due to his mistake. Sien. Lee Chong Wei didn't appear to be in top form, but to be fair, Lin Dan was really good. He simply outclassed Chong Wei. The smashes were evil. And during the first game, he had Chong Wei running all over the court whilst he appeared to barely break a sweat running.
Oh well, a silver is better than none. Thank you, Chong Wei.
At least, he made it to the final game.
Thus it appears while my athletic-sense is zilch, I do still enjoy watching sports. Heeh.
～みはる～
Disclaimer: None of the images are mine. All were google-d.
By
Miharu
River Flows In You
A friend introduced this song to me, which I find very calming and serene:
An excellent stress-reliever.
～みはる～
River Flows In You by Yiruma
An excellent stress-reliever.
～みはる～
By
Miharu
For You A Thousand Times Over
Of late, I seem to have a knack for picking really emotionally wrecking books.
The Kite Runner.
I never intended to pick up this fiction although my friends had given raving recommendations, well... at least not yesterday. But I had time to spare while waiting for my Japanese lessons, so I loitered around the Bestsellers section of Kinokuniya. And thought, why not read a chapter?
Six chapters later, I was queueing at the cashier paying for this Khaled Hosseini debut.
And finished it in one sitting.
It's been a long time since I've read a fiction so riveting it vexed me out, so raw it hurt me hard, and so painful it cried me down. I finished the book with puffy eyes. Damn.
The Kite Runner is a story revolving around Amir, a wealthy Pashtun boy, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's Hazara servant, in a backdrop of politically-morphing Afghanistan. Playmates from birth, a tragic childhood incident haunted them into adulthood, driving them apart. Wiki's got a lengthy review of the book, so I'm not going to do it here.
What moved me most about The Kite Runner was Khaled Hosseini's style of storytelling. He didn't use fancy words or alluring phrases to impress. It was straightforward and to the point, yet so emotionally evoking. I personally think his scoring point was that he used themes so human and universal: longing, fear, cowardice, loyalty, love, jealousy, shame, guilt, forgiveness, redemption. In short, emotion.
His depiction of Hassan's loyalty was so altruistic it made me cry. That Hassan bore no resentment towards Amir for the sexual assault he had to go through and his sincerity to Amir regardless the stark contrast in their status,... my tears flow for the pureness of Hassan's humanity was not valued by the person he so loved most.
As good fiction does, the story was thought-provoking. It pained me when Amir didn't stand up for Hassan when he was sodomized by Assef. As the story was written with Amir as the protagonist, we get to follow the emotional turmoil he had to go through as he battles the demons that haunt him after the incident. And how he finally redeems himself.
Personally, I think that what Amir had done was unforgivable, regardless whatever he does after the incident to redeem himself. The damage was done, and "I'm sorry" will not reverse the sexual assault that has happened. At the same time, I don't think Amir is to be blamed. In fact, I don't think there is anyone whom we can lay the blame on.
Amir had made a decision at the alley where Hassan was facing off Assef. He had two choices: to step in and prevent the assault, or to stay rooted and watch the assault proceed. Amir had decided on the latter. And for that, he had to bear the consequences of making that decision, which was to live with the fact that he could have saved Hassan from emotional (and physical) scarring but opted not to. And bear the shame and guilt for as long as he lives, alone. In retrospect, even if he had made the first of the two choices, that is to step in and prevent the assault, he would also have to bear the consequences, such as getting himself bashed up or assaulted by Assef instead.
Why then, had Amir decided on the latter over the former choice? This is where I think the environment factor comes into place. Amir was brought up in that precise environment, nurtured in that precise culture, exposed to that precise conformations of that precise society he lived in, all of which leads to his decision. Amir's decision was a consequence of the his upbringing, i.e. the result of the actions of other people all his lifetime. In fact, I think it doesn't apply to just Amir alone, but every character in the story: Hassan, Assef, Baba, and so on. Therefore, I think at that state at that time, Amir's decision was inevitable. Rather, it was a result waiting to happen, a result of all the actions in the past.
It brings home the point of which I have been mulling over quite a while.
Life is living with the consequences of the actions you take.
At every moment in time, we are making decisions, consciously and subconsciously. And every choice that we are presented with brings with it consequences that we have to carry, significant or insignificant. But how do we know which choice to make? Which is right, or wrong? We don't know. There is no right or wrong. We make decisions based on our rationale, our values, our thoughts. And our rationale, values, and thoughts were molded by the environment we were brought up in. And the environment we live in is a continuing consequence of actions by our families, friends, enemies, society.
That is why the Lord Buddha preaches of the cause and effect: karma.
.
.
.
Like I said, the book was thought-provoking. And it gives me material for reflection.
The verdict is The Kite Runner is one hell of a fiction that you shouldn't miss. Evocative, as Chicago Tribune put it.
And the tagline gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I read:
For you a thousand times over.
～みはる～
The Kite Runner.
I never intended to pick up this fiction although my friends had given raving recommendations, well... at least not yesterday. But I had time to spare while waiting for my Japanese lessons, so I loitered around the Bestsellers section of Kinokuniya. And thought, why not read a chapter?
Six chapters later, I was queueing at the cashier paying for this Khaled Hosseini debut.
And finished it in one sitting.
It's been a long time since I've read a fiction so riveting it vexed me out, so raw it hurt me hard, and so painful it cried me down. I finished the book with puffy eyes. Damn.
The Kite Runner is a story revolving around Amir, a wealthy Pashtun boy, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's Hazara servant, in a backdrop of politically-morphing Afghanistan. Playmates from birth, a tragic childhood incident haunted them into adulthood, driving them apart. Wiki's got a lengthy review of the book, so I'm not going to do it here.
What moved me most about The Kite Runner was Khaled Hosseini's style of storytelling. He didn't use fancy words or alluring phrases to impress. It was straightforward and to the point, yet so emotionally evoking. I personally think his scoring point was that he used themes so human and universal: longing, fear, cowardice, loyalty, love, jealousy, shame, guilt, forgiveness, redemption. In short, emotion.
His depiction of Hassan's loyalty was so altruistic it made me cry. That Hassan bore no resentment towards Amir for the sexual assault he had to go through and his sincerity to Amir regardless the stark contrast in their status,... my tears flow for the pureness of Hassan's humanity was not valued by the person he so loved most.
As good fiction does, the story was thought-provoking. It pained me when Amir didn't stand up for Hassan when he was sodomized by Assef. As the story was written with Amir as the protagonist, we get to follow the emotional turmoil he had to go through as he battles the demons that haunt him after the incident. And how he finally redeems himself.
Personally, I think that what Amir had done was unforgivable, regardless whatever he does after the incident to redeem himself. The damage was done, and "I'm sorry" will not reverse the sexual assault that has happened. At the same time, I don't think Amir is to be blamed. In fact, I don't think there is anyone whom we can lay the blame on.
Amir had made a decision at the alley where Hassan was facing off Assef. He had two choices: to step in and prevent the assault, or to stay rooted and watch the assault proceed. Amir had decided on the latter. And for that, he had to bear the consequences of making that decision, which was to live with the fact that he could have saved Hassan from emotional (and physical) scarring but opted not to. And bear the shame and guilt for as long as he lives, alone. In retrospect, even if he had made the first of the two choices, that is to step in and prevent the assault, he would also have to bear the consequences, such as getting himself bashed up or assaulted by Assef instead.
Why then, had Amir decided on the latter over the former choice? This is where I think the environment factor comes into place. Amir was brought up in that precise environment, nurtured in that precise culture, exposed to that precise conformations of that precise society he lived in, all of which leads to his decision. Amir's decision was a consequence of the his upbringing, i.e. the result of the actions of other people all his lifetime. In fact, I think it doesn't apply to just Amir alone, but every character in the story: Hassan, Assef, Baba, and so on. Therefore, I think at that state at that time, Amir's decision was inevitable. Rather, it was a result waiting to happen, a result of all the actions in the past.
It brings home the point of which I have been mulling over quite a while.
Life is living with the consequences of the actions you take.
At every moment in time, we are making decisions, consciously and subconsciously. And every choice that we are presented with brings with it consequences that we have to carry, significant or insignificant. But how do we know which choice to make? Which is right, or wrong? We don't know. There is no right or wrong. We make decisions based on our rationale, our values, our thoughts. And our rationale, values, and thoughts were molded by the environment we were brought up in. And the environment we live in is a continuing consequence of actions by our families, friends, enemies, society.
That is why the Lord Buddha preaches of the cause and effect: karma.
.
.
.
Like I said, the book was thought-provoking. And it gives me material for reflection.
The verdict is The Kite Runner is one hell of a fiction that you shouldn't miss. Evocative, as Chicago Tribune put it.
And the tagline gives me goosebumps no matter how many times I read:
For you a thousand times over.
～みはる～
Underground
Rarely do I find a book that moves me to tears.
Haruki Murakami's Underground did.
A window to the minds of the Japanese, whose lives were derailed simply because they took the wrong train, wrong carriage at the wrong time. How the Tokyo sarin gas attack changed (or not) their lives.
Imagine just another Monday, catching just another routine rush hour train to work. And just another passenger beside you dropped 2 packets of lethal sarin on the floor of the train carriage. That could be the last Monday of your entire life.
Underground is a chilling account of how the biological terrorism changed some of the perspectives of the victims and the people close to them. A particularly heartbreaking account is that of a pair of siblings, Shizuko & Tatsuo Akashi's. Shizuko was rendered temporarily vegetative, and has since regained consciousness, but have yet recovered from the brain and muscular functions damaged by sarin. The attack robbed her of her speech, memory, mobility and her future. And her brother Tatsuo bears the mental and physical burden of the tragedy that had so wrongly befallen upon them.
However, Shizuko and Tatsuo perservere; trying to move on with their lives and coping with the tragedy. Their story provides us all material for rumination. As Haruki Murakami puts it thoughtfully:
"...what does it mean to be alive? If I were in Shizuko's place, would I have the willpower to live as fully as she? Would I have the courage, or the persistence and determination? Could I hold someone's hand with such warmth and strength? Would the love of others save me? I don't know."
-Haruki Murakami, Underground
～みはる～
Haruki Murakami's Underground did.
A window to the minds of the Japanese, whose lives were derailed simply because they took the wrong train, wrong carriage at the wrong time. How the Tokyo sarin gas attack changed (or not) their lives.
Imagine just another Monday, catching just another routine rush hour train to work. And just another passenger beside you dropped 2 packets of lethal sarin on the floor of the train carriage. That could be the last Monday of your entire life.
Underground is a chilling account of how the biological terrorism changed some of the perspectives of the victims and the people close to them. A particularly heartbreaking account is that of a pair of siblings, Shizuko & Tatsuo Akashi's. Shizuko was rendered temporarily vegetative, and has since regained consciousness, but have yet recovered from the brain and muscular functions damaged by sarin. The attack robbed her of her speech, memory, mobility and her future. And her brother Tatsuo bears the mental and physical burden of the tragedy that had so wrongly befallen upon them.
However, Shizuko and Tatsuo perservere; trying to move on with their lives and coping with the tragedy. Their story provides us all material for rumination. As Haruki Murakami puts it thoughtfully:
"...what does it mean to be alive? If I were in Shizuko's place, would I have the willpower to live as fully as she? Would I have the courage, or the persistence and determination? Could I hold someone's hand with such warmth and strength? Would the love of others save me? I don't know."
-Haruki Murakami, Underground
～みはる～
By
Miharu
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